porcupine73 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Another Subaru smell thread. Noticed this nasty smell today at the gas station. Figured it was some other car. Then noticed again at a stop light. Then when I stopped at home despot some people were walking by my car and they were waving their hands in front of their noses. So I figured I better have a looksee. Then I saw some acrid smoke pouring from under the hood. Followed the smoke plume down and spotted the RH inner cv joint boot busted open and grease spewed about. This is on '00obw AT 116k miles. Time for a MWE axles replacement! Say grossgary how many miles do you think I could run this for, about 50,000? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daehttub2000 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 You're lucky you had the smell to tip you off to a torn CV boot. I had a "D'oh!" moment with a torn CV boot. I had noticed earlier this year at the car wash that I had picked up some gunk just behind my right front wheel that wouldn't wash off easily. I thought I had driven through some spilled junk on the roadway. I only found out it was a torn CV boot when the car was on the hoist to repair a leaky tire. The tear was on the outer boot and the grease had spun around the inside of my alloy wheels and only a small amount would spill outside. Now I know what axle grease looks like... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Yah on an outer joint I guess it would sling all over the wheel and maybe brake parts. This inner joint slung it all over the exhaust and some other parts. It's ripped open pretty good, though the pic is too dark to really see it. Do these things just rip open suddenly like that? It looked OK before that; I inspected it maybe a month ago. Although there was this time it got kind of soaked with crc electrical contact cleaner....I put plastic over it to protect it but it still got on. I'll probably just get the mwe axle. The only other two options I would consider are oem reman but that's about $180, or maybe a oem from a salvage yard. Well or brand new oem but that's like $300. I am not interested in any from autozone or pepboys or any place like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Do these things just rip open suddenly like that? It looked OK before that; I inspected it maybe a month ago. Although there was this time it got kind of soaked with crc electrical contact cleaner....I put plastic over it to protect it but it still got on. Yes, they do get old and rip open sudenly. It is helpful, though to park with the front wheels straight ahead, as this lessons the stress on the CV boot. I know, because the very same thing happened to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I'll probably just get the mwe axle. The only other two options I would consider are oem reman but that's about $180, or maybe a oem from a salvage yard. Well or brand new oem but that's like $300. I am not interested in any from autozone or pepboys or any place like that. The right inner boot on my 99 forester splite open in 2005 at @ 90K miles. I was working overseas at the time so my wife had it replaced with a remanufactured unit -- don't know what kind the mechanic used but it has worked just fine. The left inner one failed almost exactly one year later at 107K miles, which I discovered almost immediatel so I replaced the boots. Although the plastic outer oem boots were fine and seem to hold up quite well, but decided to replaced them with neoprene aftermarket ones -- plastic ones are more difficult to seal without the proper tools. The oem NTN half shafts seem bulletproof, especially according to grossgary as you well know, so I felt it was worth it. I plan on rotating the front halfshafts, I replace a bad front wheel bearing to hopefully extend their service life. If the polished surfaces of the outer joint aren't pitted or rusty, why not just replace the boots. You may also want to replace the inner hub seal while you have things apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Time for a MWE axles replacement! Say grossgary how many miles do you think I could run this for, about 50,000? ha ha, thanks for humor, i like it. not a huge fan of letting the inners go. of course i don't recommend it, but they can last awhile if you avoid off road and depending what your state uses in the winter. i wouldn't risk it on the inner one as much though, they tend to get very bad vibrations and seem to go downhill quicker...at least from what i've seen. the outer ones seem to be better at not causing problems, which is odd since they're the ones that move the most and look most likely to get contaminated. i drove in the sand with broken boots before...talk about a quick way to destroy your axles. i still made the 800 mile trip home, but it was noisey. no need to turn the wheel to hear the clicking! i agree with MWE, i just bought a bunch of them from those guys. i still wait until i go in there for something else though to change them. a number of guys on here rave about the GCK axles as well, they are new and available at auto parts stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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